The Trouble with Switching Stairs
by HPtwilightfanatic
Summary: Hogwarts' staircases were infamous for ruining lives. Well, maybe lives was a bit dramatic. but days were definitely within their power to ruin. Lily Evans and James Potter know this well. The stairs seem to have some sort of agenda out for those two. Jily. Oneshot. T for some language. Hope you enjoy!


_Year One_

"You've got to be joking!" Lily shouted. She'd reached the top stair on her way to Charms, her second class of the day, when the staircase had suddenly thrown her off her feet as it slid to the right, nearly toppling her off of the stairs all together.

"I'm not sure the stairs have a mind to joke you with, Evans."

And of course, he would have to get caught with her.

"I'm fairly certain they do, Potter. What are you doing here anyway?"

Dusting himself off before gripping the railing to pull himself back into a standing position, he grinned up at her. "I was going to the same class as you're headed to. Now I'm surfing a staircase!" he did look as if he were surfing, a light breeze feathering up his already messy hair.

"You did this, didn't you? Your pranks always go too far!"

Potter was already shaking his head, his annoying smile still on his lips. "I can't magic these staircases to move. I don't even think you could!"

Lily arched an eyebrow at him, sneaking down a few steps so she wasn't looking down at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Even though the stairs were rushing at a fast pace, Potter looked quite at his leisure, leaning back and enjoying the ride.

"I've seen you in classes. Even in the Common Room. You're very good."

"I'm good?"

"At magic!"

Lily stood staring for a long moment. Under her gaze, his bright eyes flickered with doubt, and he seemed to shrink a bit.

"I guess I'm trying to give you a, uh…er-"

"A compliment?"

He laughed nervously, a hand sneaking up to run through his hair. "Yeah."

Lily couldn't help herself, and a smile broke over her face. "Thanks. You're not so bad yourself."

Shrugging, he shoved his hands into his pockets. His cheeks may have gotten a tinge darker than before, but it was hard to make out as they moved so quickly.

"Really! That prank the other day, where you had Filch's bald head conjuring up different hairdos? That was brilliant."

Potter positively beamed at her, any doubt fleeing from his eyes as they lit up again into a milky gold color.

"Did you think so?"

She nodded, her cheeks beginning to hurt from how much she was smiling. There was a long moment between them that was all smiles and some short breaths that could have easily become laughs, but never got the chance to, for the staircase jolted to a sudden stop, sending both Lily and Potter shooting forward. Once again sprawled on the steps, the two grumbled, gathering up their scattered belongings.

For a surprising second, the pair of them exchanged a glance, roughly returning to their feet, unused to still ground after their recent trip.

"We're going to be late if we don't hurry," James started in the direction of Charms, walking with Lily the whole way.

_Year Two_

Lily groaned loudly as the staircase moved, with her stuck in the middle of it. Why did this always happen to her at the worst of times? Perhaps she wasn't late for class this time, no. She just wasn't supposed to be out and about at all.

She had woken up, which was rather odd, as she usually was quite the sound sleeper, with stomach rumbling so loud and painfully, it had prevented her from falling back asleep. Gathering up her robe and slippers, she shuffled her way down Gryffindor Tower, making the long trek down to the kitchens. So of course, the stairs decided to put her stomach through more torture, taking a detour for a longer journey.

"All I want is a measly snack. Is that so troublesome?" She aimed a kick at the railings, only causing pain in her toe, and doing absolutely nothing to the stone.

The stairs halted in front of a hallway that Lily had never come across during her time at Hogwarts yet. It was only her second year, so it wasn't out of the ordinary to find new niches in the castle, but she'd been proud of her extensive knowledge on her new school before she'd attended. Whether her pride hurt or not, her stomach hurt more, and now she had no idea where she was going.

"Damn. Thanks a lot," she frowned down at the steps.

"Thanks for what?"

The voice, though she knew whom it belonged to, caused her heart to jump and her pulse thrumming in the fight-or-flight response.

"Merlin, Potter! You scared me!"

A glimmer from his glasses in the dim lighting gave away his position, which really wasn't too far from her on the solid ground.

"Sorry," his voice did not sound the least bit apologetic-more amused than anything.

"I'm sure you are," as usual, and against her will, she was smiling again.

"You might want to get off of those before they move again," Potter indicated the stairs under her feet with a nod of his head.

Maybe she was a little tired, or too hungry, but she grinned at him, the same sort of one he gave her all the time, and sat right down on the step she had just been standing on. "This actually isn't my stop."

Coming to rest on the same step as her, he returned the smile. Lily had never noticed the dimple that indented his left cheek when he smiled. She must have just always been to his right before this point.

"Where is your stop exactly?"

As if on cue, her stomach growled, probably cursing in stomach language, and demanding food.

"The kitchens, I guess," Potter laughed quietly.

"That was the idea, yeah."

"I didn't have you pegged for midnight cravings, Evans."

"Then maybe you shouldn't peg me," she nudged him none too gently with her elbow, but he only started to laugh harder. As much as they would bicker, she still enjoyed his company. He was different when it was just him, and he wasn't with his mates, the Marauders. Though, the same could be said of her, she guessed.

"Well, excuse me," Potter drawled dramatically, mock-offended.

"You're excused."

Their shared laughter was not as quiet and controlled as his had been before, and it reverberated off of the walls around them.

"Have you ever been down to the kitchens before?"

Lily shook her head at his question. She'd heard the trick of how to get into the kitchens a million times, by just tickling the pair in the portrait, but she'd never actually been.

"This will be quite the adventure for you then!"

"Of course you've been there. You probably know every inch of this castle," Lily's tone had been obviously sarcastic, but to her surprise he nodded.

"I like knowing my surroundings."

"So you can wreak havoc?"

"Partly, yes."

Another shared laughter came between them, as natural as breathing.

"What's the other part?" She asked him, but an answer never came, as the ground shook underneath them, cutting off any more conversation. The staircase had returned to the corridor Lily had been aiming for in the first place, but neither of them had noticed the movement at all.

"So," he stood up, offering her a hand, "about that snack?"

_Year Three_

"Bloody hell, Potter! Get back here!"

The boy escaped her grasp just barely, shooting to solid, flat ground as the stairs pulled away from the corridor.

"You little bugger! Don't think you're going to get off easy!"

Potter saluted her as she drew farther away, and in return she showed him an obscene finger that only served to make him laugh.

Grudgingly tapping her foot, Lily cursed the moving ground beneath her with every word she could think of. Anything that sounded good. _Damn flobber! Flaming bugger! What the flipping flapjacks!_ A good portion of her anger was directed at the boy whom she had been chasing as well.

"Sodding Potter thinks he can steal my wand and get off scot-free?" She muttered. Another portion of her anger was at herself. How had she let him get away with it? However, the rest of her fury was directed at the damn staircase. It always interfered with everything! Whose idea had it been to add moving staircases? Whoever it was, Lily was tempted to find their remains and kill them all over again. The bugger deserved it.

"You don't just take people's wands. Isn't that common courtesy? And what the hell, Evans? How did that toerag do it? Little shit." Now she was just rambling, a deep frown set in her brow.

With a loud scrape and rumbling, the staircase stopped, and Lily was ready to set back on her high-speed chase of the wand thief. But she didn't have to go anywhere, for her target was standing right at the foot of the stairs, smirking and twirling her wand in his fingers.

"How did you-?" Lily questioned, looking back over her shoulder as if she could still see the spot where he'd escaped her before.

"I will never tell my secrets," he sang, eyes shining.

"You're a prick."

"Why am I referred to by this terrible name for a penis, Miss Evans?"

"Why do you think, toerag?"

"Such nasty words."

Maybe her words were nasty, but a glare from Lily Evans was enough to make Potter quit his teasing. At least, some of it.

"Is this why you're so angry?" He flipped her wand, holding it out to her, but she was no fool. Lily knew he would pull it out of her reach the moment her hand twitched. There was no way she would be playing along with his game. Potter smirked at her hesitation, and took to twirling it again, as if it were a baton. "If you ask nicely, I'll give it back."

"There's a catch."

"Why do you always assume there's a catch?"

"Because there is with you."

"I think you're spending too much time with suspicious old Snivellus."

"I wonder why he's got trust issues, _Potter._ And don't call him that." The inflection in her voice at his name was hard to miss.

"Hey, he never trusted me. So I am not guilty of anything to do with his trust issues." He held up his hands in a surrender, though he still held her wand tightly.

"You're always guilty of something."

"Touché."

Regarding each other, they were tensed like animals on the hunt-hazel eyes alight and green ones tight.

"Give me my wand," she ordered, taking the steps down to him slowly, an idea beginning to form in her head. She had to stop herself from cracking an evil grin as she pondered this new thought.

"That's not asking nicely."

Lily really hoped her timing of the staircases movement was right. Usually her luck with them wasn't too good, but now she was banking on them. Maybe not her best idea, but it would have to do if she were to exact her revenge.

"It's my wand; my property. Why should I have to ask for it back?"

"Because it's the polite thing to do."

"And it's polite to steal another's things?"

"I never said that."

"Then you're a hypocrite."

The two were rather close now. If Potter decided to take a deep breath for some reason, his chest would have brushed her own. But she didn't allow herself to think about that much to her blush's despair. There was other business to attend to.

"Maybe I am, but that doesn't mean you are." Potter, on the other hand, was _quite_ aware of how close they were. His chest had tightened, and his fingernails were digging into his palms as he stubbornly tried to think of pranks and dungbombs instead of a girl this close. Particularly, _this _girl this close.

"You're right."

"About what?"

"I may not be a hypocrite like you, but I'm just as polite as you are."

"What-?"

Potter wasn't given the time to finish his question when Lily's hand snuck into his back pocket, where she knew to be the favored storing place for his wand. Retreating from him before he could really react, she brandished his wand as if it were a spoil of war. Which in a way, it was. The eyes that were so confident and glimmering before were wide with shock.

"Why you-"

Lily sent a shining grin toward him, jumping out of his reach and back onto the steps. For the first time in her Hogwarts career, they worked with her rather than against her, and began moving before Potter could jump on after her.

Now she was the one laughing, saluting as he had, watching as the distance between them grew. Even though she may not have gotten her wand back, she took great joy in seeing the shock on Potter's face at the theft of his.

_Year Four_

"Shouldn't you be in Transfiguration?"

The boy, lounging against the wall with a cigarette hanging from his bottom lip, brightened up at the sound of the approaching girl's voice.

"Shouldn't you?" Potter countered quickly.

"I have a pass," Lily responded, waving the slip of parchment in his face and snatching it back before he could make to grab it, "I'm delivering something to Professor Dumbledore for McGonagall."

Feigning to check his pockets, Potter exhaled a sigh of relief, some smoke following it. "I don't have a pass."

Rolling her eyes, she plowed on, "I know that. So what are you doing out of class?"

"Technically, I'm not out of class if I never went to class in the first place."

Lily crossed her arms over her chest, a glare that was not convincingly angry on her brow. "You know that McGonagall truly likes you, as much as she pretends not to. Why do you spurn her respect like this?"

The usually carefree and light hazel eyes darkened, and his gaze left her face in favor of the ceiling. He took a long drag of his cigarette before he spoke.

"I'm not spurning her respect, as you so eloquently put it. Transfiguration is boring."

Lily almost exploded at him, but listening to how careful his tone was, she kept her cool. Only he could make her emotions range so quickly, she'd noticed as of late.

"Boring? I thought it was your favorite subject? It's certainly your best."

Potter glanced at her, a familiar spark returning. "You notice all that? How touching."

"More like you just speak really loudly about yourself."

He laughed at her half-arsed insult. "It is my favorite class," he conceded, offering her a puff of his cigarette. Lily shook her head, and he shrugged, as it if were her loss. "But I-"

_He never has trouble speaking about himself. Why was this so hard now?_ Lily wondered, a watchful eye catching every change in his expression. A red blush started to grow on his cheeks, and his eyes were flickering everywhere, as if the architecture of the castle was suddenly the most interesting thing on the planet.

"I sort of studied ahead. I like the subject, and McGonagall told me I had a knack for it. So during the summers, I asked for more stuff to work on," Potter paused, as if waiting for her to interject, but she had nothing to say.

"So, technically, I should be taking sixth year Transfiguration, but with OWLs next year, McGoogies doesn't want me to get too far ahead. Yeah, she hates it when I skip class, but I don't really need to be there. I've learned it all already," he shrugged again, as if someone had attached marionette strings to them and was just lifting them for fun now.

Lily was in shock. "Are you joking?"

"No," he looked more self-conscious that she had ever expected James Potter to look.

Glancing down at her pass, thoughts swirling around in her head and a pit beginning to grow in her belly, Lily started walking again, stepping onto the staircase, Potter, not to her surprise, at her heels.

"I know it's hard to believe, but I'm not lying to you Lily! I just-" He was cut off as the ground projected into movement.

"Bloody hell! Why does this always happen!" The redhead shouted up to the heavens.

"I'm sorry, I-"

"Sorry? Why are you sorry?"

With cigarette completely forgotten, he stared at her.

"You're sorry for moving ahead? James, that's fantastic!"

Now his brow furrowed. "Why are you mad then?"

There was the question that Lily did not really want to answer. She knew it was downright irrational to feel angry for the reason she did. Walking away again wasn't really an option though, as they were both stuck on this small staircase until it decided to stop again. There was always the option to jump and hope for the best, but that would not be a good idea.

"Lily?"

Whirling back to face him, taking in his concerned eyes, the pit grew deeper and deeper. _What is this? I don't like it,_ she thought, attempting to force the feeling away. It didn't budge. Apparently, it liked its new home.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she found herself asking without full permission from her brain.

The concern fled from his eyes and was replaced by surprise. "You're mad because I didn't tell you?"

When he said it so straightforward, Lily felt even more embarrassed. "Well, I told you when I advanced a year in Potions, didn't I?"

"Yeah, but-"

"So why didn't you tell me?"

The stairs groaned to a halt, but the two were prepared, planting their feet wide. After four years at Hogwarts, their skills at surfing the stairs were improving.

Moving up to the same step she was on, Potter moved much to close for Lily's comfort. When had he gotten so tall?

"I'll make sure I tell you everything then."

The words were simple, but the pair held each other's gaze for a long time; classes and passes forgotten. Potter had always been her friend, though he annoyed her from time to time, but these words brought them somewhere…somewhere Lily could not identify yet.

She could have backed away from his words, reeling back even on her own words and emotions, but that didn't feel particularly right. Though the other option was dangerous, she jumped into it head first.

"You better."

_Year Five_

"Lily! Wait!"

"Leave me alone!"

James Potter would not see her tears. But with the echoing footsteps still following her, Lily knew that he wouldn't be listening to her this time. Even though she wasn't really watching where she was going, she should have known better than to take the stairs.

"I'm not leaving you alone! Please listen," he begged, voice cracking.

The normal James Potter would never have shown such weakness in public, but he didn't seem to notice anybody else in that hallway but the Lily. She'd barely stepped onto the stairs when they began to change. Potter had been farther back down the corridor, and Lily let a small breath of relief trickle through her. But he was bloody determined; he didn't slow, even as the staircase pulled farther and farther away from the floor.

Watching with wide eyes, Lily witnessed him take a running leap at the stairs.

"James!"

Sprinting back down the stairs, she reached for him helping him regain his balance.

"What in Merlin's name do you think you're doing?" she demanded of him, forcing him to look at her.

"Not leaving you alone," he responded, catching his breath. Those words brought her back to her previous thoughts. Seeing him nearly fall to his death had caused a panic to rise in her and forget what she'd been so angry about. Now, unfortunately, she remembered.

Dropping her hands from his shoulder, she backed away so her back was pressed against the opposite railing.

"Lily," he started, moving toward her, but she froze him on the spot with one look. Leaving her some room to breathe, to think, to process, he retreated to the other side of the staircase. "I'm so sorry."

The problem was, he looked it. His chest was rising and falling so rapidly, still recovering from his recent exertion of energy, his cheeks were flaming red-from embarrassment or the run, she couldn't tell. His hazel eyes were flat, devoid of any emotion, and there was no hint of a smile near his lips at all.

Even so.

"I don't think sorry will cut it, Potter." Every word out of her mouth hurt him, and he flinched as if they were physical sharp objects she was throwing at him.

"I know, but you have to listen-"

"You targeted him on purpose."

"Yes, but-"

"And you-"

"Will you let me talk!"

Now, no freezing look could have stopped him. He'd launched himself from his side of the stairs, and he now gripped her arms, desperation sinking into his voice.

"Yes, I targeted him, but not for no bloody reason at all! You know we have problems with each other. Do you really believe he is innocent in this?"

No, she didn't. Severus was not innocent, he was not nice. But she didn't tell James that.

"And now-" he choked, eyes clenching tightly shut. "And he called you that, and I-I'm so sorry, Lily." His head drooped, chin almost touching his chest, his hands left her arms in favor of his hair, nearly pulling it out, and he fell to the ground hard, which could not have been kind on his bum.

Lily was still for a long time, silently watching Potter at her feet. Against her better judgment, or, at least what she though was her better judgment, her anger that had been directed at him was ebbing. Her emotions were conflicted and confused. She wanted to be angry with him, but she knew she shouldn't. Yes, he'd been bullying Severus, and there were no excuses for that. But there was no reason for him to apologize to her. He hadn't forced Severus to call her a Mudblood. In fact, James' reaction to the word was burned into her memory. He'd dropped Snape, from the levitation spell, eyes wide behind his glasses and jaw slack. He'd been as shocked as she. She remembered him shouting something at Snape, voice livid, but he'd left him, following her all this way, just to ensure she knew he was sorry.

With a heavy sigh, she slowly lowered herself to sit next to him, leaving some space between them. James must have felt her movement, but he didn't show any sign to prove it.

"Please don't be sorry."

That got a response out of him. He made to speak again, but she held up a hand.

"I know you did wrong. But if you're going to apologize for what you did in that situation, it should be to Snape. Not that he necessarily deserves it now," Lily could feel his stare all over her skin, almost tangible, but she kept her eyes on the progress the staircase was making through the castle. "He said the word, James. Not you. And to be honest, he's almost slipped it in conversation before," it was a hard thing to admit to herself, as she'd been ignoring it for so long. She finally let it out to James. "We weren't really friends anymore, just trying to keep something we lost a long time ago."

Hesitantly, she looked at James, refusing to pull away from his heavy gaze. "He's not the same kid I met all those years ago."

She expected him feel better, but he still looked as bothered as ever.

"You still got hurt. Because of me."

"And I am still mad at you," she reminded him, knowing the words were true, but it didn't feel that way.

"It would still make me feel better if you hexed me or something."

The sorry git hung his head-his words not even joking.

"Well, I'm not going to. Sorry."

"Don't _you_ apologize. Please."

She nodded, even though his eyes were focused on the stone step below him. The rest of the ride was in silence, not stony nor companionable. Just quiet. Lily could physically feel the boy next to her, but it was as if he'd vacated the scene. Even when the staircase stopped moving, the two didn't move or say a word.

Of course, Lily was upset, and she had every right to be. But James seemed more distraught than she had even come close to feeling. A truth she knew more than anything else, was as much as Snape was not the same boy she'd befriended, neither was James. He had been a cocky, mischievous little boy, not quite grasping that his actions affected others. Though he was still mischievous, he had matured. She saw he was a kind, funny, sometimes ridiculous, (and as loath as she was to admit it, handsome), boy who was almost a man. He was her friend, one of the ones she valued most, she realized now. And as upset as she was now, she couldn't stand to see him like this, just as he'd been when he ran after her.

"Come on," she stated simply, standing up. "What will be, is, dear. All you can do is keep moving." Her mother had always said that, and Lily was just now realizing how truly wise the words were.

James peered up at her cautiously. "I thought you were still mad with me."

She considered that for a moment, head tilted to the side. "I am. But I also thought you weren't going to leave me alone."

Leaving the scene behind outside, Lily's goal had been to escape to solitude. But now? She wasn't sure that's what she wanted now.

And here he was with her. Like he always was.

He stared at her for another long moment, confused. As if on aching legs, he shakily stood. His gaze was still wary, but he followed her off the stairs, a few steps behind her.

Yes, she was still angry and hurt. He was sorry and regretful. But Lily knew somehow that things would be alright.

They would be alright.

_Year Six_

"And here I thought you were supposed to be on patrol?"

Lily wasn't the least bit surprised to hear that voice ringing from behind her.

"Aren't you supposed to be plotting some grand prank?" She twirled on the spot to face him, robes spilling out around her.

James grinned cheekily at her, moving closer with each long stride. "Can't I take a break? It's hard work, you know, maraudering. You on the other hand, are not allowed to take a break. You're a prefect." He smirked, walking around her and joining in her stroll.

"I am indeed, but do you really expect any trouble to come from the Hufflepuff corridors? And it's marauding, not maraudering."

"Pity. Maraudering has a good ring to it."

Lily gave him a skeptical look, but it broke into a smile. There was barking laughter between them that was highly inappropriate, considering the late hour, but they couldn't have cared less. They could both be in heaps of trouble if they were caught-Lily for being irresponsible on her designated rounds, and James for being out past curfew. Not to mention the fact that Lily was not writing the boy up for this offense. They would have had a lot of trouble on their hands. But that was far from their minds.

"Are you still not going to tell me anything about this giant prank you're been planning for weeks?"

James clicked his tongue, raising an eyebrow at her. "You'll just have to wait and see, along with the other people of Hogwarts."

"Oh, come on!"

He made a motion of zipping his mouth closed and locking it. However, before he could throw away the imaginary key, Lily lunged for it, clutching at his hands.

"No way! If I had to be a look out for you twice, I deserve to know!"

"You will know! Tomorrow!"

"Damn you!"

The uproarious laughter continued, as did the wrestling for a nonexistent key. They were making quite the racket that just kept getting louder and louder.

Until an echoing _meow_ caused them to fall silent.

"Shit! Mrs. Norris!"

"It's just a cat, James."

"No, it's a demon! Come on!"

Gripping her hand tightly in his own, he broke into a sprint, dragging her along behind him until her legs caught up to their movements.

"James, go for the-"

"I know!" He shouted back, rounding the corner a little too sharply. Lily had to regain her footing, as he didn't stop until they had reached the east staircase.

But it didn't move.

And Mrs. Norris was coming around the corner.

"Really? Every other sodding time, it will switch, but not when we actually need it to!" Glaring accusingly down at the stairs, the redhead stomped her foot for emphasis.

"Come on!" James slammed his hand on the railing, as if it would help spur the stone stairs into motion but nothing happened.

Filch's beloved cat drew nearer and nearer.

"Oh Merlin," Lily breathed, not exactly sure why she should be afraid of a cat, but caught up in the stress of the moment. The gleaming red eyes of the cat were clearly visible.

James' words were a lot less clean than hers, but as his rant ended with a kick to the same stair Lily had stomped, he ended up hurting himself more than the stone, but the ground moved.

The cat burst into a run, but she wasn't fast enough. All she could do was pout at the edge and hiss after them as they were carried to safety.

"I thought we were goners."

"By way of Mrs. Norris?" Lily teased, but there was not a hint of sarcasm on James' expression.

"No joke, Lils. That is an evil cat. I swear she's worse than Filch himself."

His look of pure fear only brought Lily to laughter again, which James tried to protest to, but eventually he was caught up in her fit.

"I said it wasn't a joke!" he complained between laughs, but Lily was, as he'd put it before, a goner. She had no more control over her actions. She clutched her abdomen, beginning to feel a slight but not unpleasant pain there from laughing, as tears began to leak from her closed eyes.

"You're afraid of a cat!"

James made to playfully smack her arm, but there was no muscle behind it for they all seemed to have melted from all his laughing.

"She's a rather fearsome thing."

"You're pathetic."

"Have you had to deal with that cat's persecution?"

"Persecution!"

"Yes!"

"That cat you're talking about has a smaller brain than you."

"I see you have no pity. You just don't understand."

Their laughter was finally reaching a lull, though it would surprise them with sudden bursts.

"How is NEWT studying going for you?" He asked after a short, comfortable silence.

"Honestly? I'm not really studying for them. I know I should be, but they're next year. Besides, I am an expert on cramming for exams." She smiled smugly, tugging some hairs that had fallen loose from all of the laughing behind her ear.

"Oh, I know. Remember how you procrastinated for your OWLs?" James sent a cheeky grin her way. Lily scoffed, though a true smile replaced her teasing one from before.

"As I recall, you were procrastinating right along with me, Mr. Potter."

"I never said anything to indicate otherwise, Miss Evans."

"I cursed you so hard for distracting me," she remembered, twisting the ends of her sleeves in her fingers.

"Distract you? How can I distract you?" James hooted with laughter, leaning forward.

"Very easily."

It probably would have been better for both of them if Lily had not said those two words, though then again, maybe it wouldn't have.

"Is that so?"

Like the flip of a sickle, all of the silliness vanished. Instead, James' voice was interested, surprised, and something else was laced in there as well. Something that made his voice rumble deep in his chest. Lily only realized how close he was to her when she could actually feel his voice vibrate around her.

"Yes," her voice shook, and she swore colorfully in her thoughts. "You have quite the talent for it." _Stop talking!_ Her head shouted at her, but the telegram line from her mind to her mouth had apparently been severed.

She waited for James to laugh, or say something inappropriate, but the silence endured.

They coasted to a stop, but neither party moved. The staircase would move again soon, but they still stayed put. Finally, Lily could barely stand it anymore, and she shot off of the stairs, her face burning so bad she might have signed herself into St. Mungo's with third degree burns.

"For the record, you've got a talent for distracting me too." His voice called in the empty hallway. Stopping in her tracks, Lily was not exactly sure what to do with this new information.

Though, she did know one thing; her stomach was floating somewhere a lot higher than its rightful place, near her heart, which had hitched up a notch in tempo.

_Year Seven_

"Who knew?" James smirked, arching an eyebrow in Lily's direction.

She'd quickly grabbed for the railing as the stairs began to move. And, just by lucky chance-or tradition, she wasn't really sure what these stairs were thinking half the time-only she and James had been caught on them. Their mates had waved, mocking and shouting as the distance between them increased.

"Who knew what?" Lily demanded, though she was not at all as angry as she sounded, and James knew it.

"Who knew I'd actually be happy when the stairs switched for once."

"Now, what could make you so happy about that?" She asked, her own eyebrow raising in a teasing manner.

"Wouldn't you like to know." sidling up close to her, arms pressed together, he feigned innocence. Although James Potter was talented in a great many things, looking innocent was not one of them.

The arm against him was beginning to tingle with warmth, despite the thick cloaks they wore to protect them from the day's chill.

"Actually, I would." Lily was much more skilled in the field as if she did not have ill intention on her mind. Well, not ill per say, but naughty intentions.

With a swift movement, it was not only his arm touching her, but his whole front lining up with every edge of hers.

"Does this ring any bells?" He asked, his voice husky, and chapped lips grazed the skin of her jaw. In response, her head lolled back, red hair tumbling back over her shoulders.

"It rings quite a lot of them," she sighed, hands coming up to hold his shoulders.

They both were supposed to be on their way to level seven Charms class at the moment, but Professor Flitwick could wait. It wasn't like the two of them hadn't been late to his class for a similar reason before. For, James and Lily were _very _good at distracting each other after all.

"Are you sure you don't want me to elaborate?" Those lips of his were spanning the length of her collar bone, up her neck, to that little spot behind her ear that made wave after wave of shivers pour down her spine.

"Elaborate all you want, though you should know, that I know."

Her fingers tugged lightly on his hair

"Know what?"

His hands squeezed her waist slightly, making her giggle breathlessly.

"I know why you're so happy."

Their lips catch on each other's, drawing sighs and the smallest of moans that they share.

"Do you now?"

James' eyes melt into a dark chocolate color, drinking in Lily's pink cheeks and sparkling emerald eyes. His gaze drifts down to her lips, where his had been only a moment ago.

Lily only nods, for fear her voice will reveal exactly what this boy does to her.

"So why would I be?" James is having the same trouble, and is quite grateful his words come out normally. There's no need to make Lily even smugger in knowing the effect she has on him. Just as he pulls her in, enveloping her mouth with his, the stairs stop on their journey, forcing the two tighter together with the sudden lack of momentum. They take advantage of this newfound closeness, the smallest of voices at the back of their heads reminding them of class, and the stairs frequent movement, but both of them were far too busy, and enjoying themselves immensely in this business.

The kiss slowed, hands stopped roaming all over, and their breathing returned to normal.

"You're happy," Lily started, clearing her throat of any leftover huskiness that is all James' fault. Though she's sure he heard a little by that silly satisfied grin on his swollen lips, "Because this corridor is actually a shortcut to Charms, and we won't be late!"

He stared for a moment, as those words had not been travelling along the same line as his thoughts, but could only laugh loudly as Lily laced their fingers together and pulled him along the hall.

"Yeah, I guess that's one reason I'm happy."

"Oh, believe me. I know the other reason," she turned and winked at James. "And it makes me happy too."


End file.
